Crossing Over

A multi-character drama set in Los Angeles. The narrative is built on immigration and runs several stories together. An immigration agent works in the field; the child of a woman he detains in a factory raid is left with nobody, and he steps outside his duty. A woman is chasing acting work and waiting for a green card; the official who will decide her case wants something from her, and that relationship is the hardest section in the film. An Iranian family prepares for a citizenship ceremony; the relationship of the young woman in the family collides with her father's rules. A Bangladeshi girl gives a presentation at school; what she says draws the attention of the security services and her family enters deportation. A young Jewish man applies for a job under an identity that is not his. From there the film crosses these lines. Some touch each other, some only share the same city. What the narrative is interested in is not the law but discretion: in every story an official decides, and no single decision is malicious; the sum is destructive. Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Jim Sturgess, Cliff Curtis, Alice Eve and Summer Bishil are in the cast. Wayne Kramer wrote and directed. The film was shortened in editing and the reviews on release were poor; it was said the multi-strand structure did not give any story enough room. Who it is for: anyone who likes intersecting narratives and dramas about migration. Who it is not for: anyone expecting delicacy; the film passes over its subjects quickly and some lines are left unfinished.